


When the moment comes (I'll be calling out your name)

by targaryen_melodrama



Series: Not an end (But the start of all things) [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Captain America Sam Wilson, Ficlet, M/M, Mild Angst, POV Sam Wilson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:13:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24394087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/targaryen_melodrama/pseuds/targaryen_melodrama
Summary: “Morning, Sam.”“Morning.” Sam yawns, stretches as much as he can. He takes a deep breath, tries to convince himself that he’s not being a coward by saying the words without facing Bucky. “I have to go.”___Short prequel to "And if you lost it all (We are beginning)".
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Sam Wilson
Series: Not an end (But the start of all things) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1761457
Comments: 4
Kudos: 32





	When the moment comes (I'll be calling out your name)

**Author's Note:**

> Not beta'ed, feel free to point out typos, etc.

Sam wakes up to the wind howling outside, the occasional crash of debris on the walls of the house providing an uneven tempo to the eerie melody that had become familiar to him. Just a few weeks ago, the sound would’ve been chilling: the wind is only this loud because of the lack of buildings to stop it in its path, a constant reminder of the thousands of cars and homes that had used stand here. 

Hell, even today he’d be waking up feeling wary, not at all rested, if not for the protective Bucky Barnes-shaped bubble that surrounds him.

Bucky’s warm and steady breath against Sam’s temple is a soft, comforting counterpart to the whistling outside, a peaceful, utterly mundane rhythm against the world’s chaos. He’s wrapped up in smooth vibranium and soft flesh, and there isn’t an inch of Sam’s skin available to Bucky that Bucky isn’t touching, his nose at the top of Sam’s head, his right hand on Sam’s lower stomach, his thigh over Sam’s, and their legs and feet in a tangle at the bottom of the large king bed.

_I never wanna leave._

“Morning, Sam.”

“Morning.” Sam yawns, stretches as much as he can. He takes a deep breath, tries to convince himself that he’s not being a coward by saying the words without facing Bucky. “I have to go.”

They’re both quiet for a moment, the spell that had suspended time and space around them officially broken, and Sam almost regrets saying it. 

But he has to. It’s the right to do.

“I know.” Bucky moves up slowly, bringing the comforter up with him. Sam turns and looks up at him, trying to gage the situation. Sam leaving is—well, it is what it is, but Sam leaving from Bucky’s _bed_ is a new development. _Very_ new development. The only good development since everything had gone to shit—for real this time. “You want breakfast first?” His eyes are on Sam’s chest, then on Sam’s face, his gaze just a little too neutral. 

“Of course. You were gonna kick me out like this, hungry and naked?”

Bucky snorts. “Hungry, maybe. Naked? I don’t know, you’re the one who insisted we sleep like this.”

“I was way too tired to put PJs on, man. Whose fault is that?”

“Mine,” Bucky says. Sam would be happy waking up to the cocky smile and the playful look in Bucky’s eyes for the rest of his days. “You complaining?”

“No, I—I’m not complaining at all.” Sam pushes himself up and leans on one elbow, then takes Bucky’s hand in his. He wouldn’t change what happened between them last night for anything in the world.

Bucky’s eyes soften. “Good. I know things happened kinda, ah, fast—”

Sam raises his eyebrow. “If that’s what we’re calling it.” They’d spent a few hours talking about the state of things outside, and within literally two minutes of Sam confirming he’d made the decision to go back out there and leave the safe house for good, Bucky had confessed his feelings for Sam, and had very politely asked whether Sam was interested in sex. “ _Sex with me. Now. In case it wasn’t clear_.”

Things had never been clearer. 

“That’s what we’re calling it,” Bucky says, rolling his eyes. “We’re good?”

Sam smiles before lifting Bucky’s hand and kissing it. “More than.”

Bucky nods. “Alright. Wouldn’t want you to leave without making sure.”

Right. Right. Sam’s leaving. 

Their tumble back down to Earth isn’t even awkward—there isn’t any anger either, any pettiness, and Sam almost wishes there was. He’d take pretty much anything over this sadness-tainted understanding. 

“The world still needs Cap,” Bucky says softly. “Needs you even more.”

“I know.” 

There are very few nights Sam doesn’t fall asleep thinking of hundreds of families aimlessly roaming, begging for food and shelter that they’d met on their way here. With or without the shield, there isn’t a doubt in Sam’s mind that he needs to be out there. 

It’s the right thing to do. 

“Sam?”

“Yeah?”

Bucky’s eyes are painfully earnest, clear in a way Sam’s rarely ever seen them be. “I know you have to go. I know why you’re doing it, and if you ever need me, I’ll be there.”

“I know,” Sam says again. He’s never doubted it.

“If you’re tired, if it all becomes too much, if you need to for whatever reason, just—come back, okay? This place is yours as much as it’s mine.”

Sam nods and tries as hard as he can not to be overwhelmed by Bucky’s words. 

“However you want me,” Bucky continues, “I’m here. I’m not just saying it because it’s the end of the world—but I’m also saying this because it’s the end of the world. I’m here.”

“I...thank you.” Sam swallows hard and takes another deep breath. “Knowing you’re here—it’ll keep me going. You mean a lot to me,” he says, echoing Bucky’s words from last night. 

Bucky smiles, beautiful and sad all at once, and leans down to kiss Sam.

For one more moment, Sam gets to feel warm, safe, and cared for. Bucky brings his hand to Sam’s jaw and time slows down, the bitterness of their goodbye turning sweet, the unsettling wail of the wind fading away. Sam relaxes, loses himself in Bucky, and tries to forget that he might never get to do this again.

**Author's Note:**

> Title from When the world stops spinning by Kyler England.
> 
> I am on [Tumblr](http://targaryenmelodrama.tumblr.com)!


End file.
